1982 Scorecard Vote

Paddy Creek Wilderness Act

House Roll Call Vote 783

Issues: Lands/Forests, Wildlife

(S. 1965). Seiberling motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill to designate as federally protected wilderness 6,888 acres in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. The area contains many winding valleys and deep hollows, divided by sharp rocky ridges with a multitude of caves, crevasses and fissures. The crystal clear forks of the Paddy Creek are filled with beaver pools which provide habitat for a wide variety of animals. Under normal circumstances, the Paddy Creek wilderness would have passed without opposition. The bill passed in Committee unanimously, and was one of only 3 wilderness designations initiated by the Reagan Administration. However, a group of anti-wilderness zealots succeeded in using the Paddy Creek vote to stir up opposition against "locking up" any additional public lands to development. Although a slightly weaker version of the bill was eventually approved by Congress, the distorted claims of its opponents create a climate which contributed to the defeat of the Irish wilderness (vote #21). Motion rejected 250-143; (a two thirds majority is required to pass a bill under suspension rules). December 15, 1982. YES is the pro-environmental vote.